Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 21, 2026
Real-Time Monitoring of Neurocritical Patients with Diffuse Optical Spectroscopies
Published on: November 19, 2020
Newborns with congenital heart diseases: epidemiological data from a single reference center in Brazil
Karina Peres Silva1, Luciane Alves Rocha1, Ana Teresa Figueiredo Stochero Leslie2
1Fetal Cardiology Unit, Department of Obstetrics, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo-SP, Brazil.
Insights
Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) affects 1.9% of newborns, often diagnosed late in older mothers. Complex cases pose challenges for neonatal survival after surgery.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) represents a significant global health concern.
- Early and accurate diagnosis of fetal CHD is crucial for improving neonatal outcomes.
- Understanding the epidemiology of CHD is essential for resource allocation and public health strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To detail the epidemiological characteristics of newborns diagnosed with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD).
- To compare the accuracy of fetal echocardiography diagnoses against postnatal findings.
- To assess the mortality rates in newborns with CHD who undergo surgical intervention.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study was conducted, analyzing medical records of pregnant women and newborns diagnosed with CHD between 2008 and 2012.
- Data included maternal age, gestational age at diagnosis and delivery, and newborn weight.
- Heart malformations were classified into complex, significant, minor, and other categories.
Main Results:
- The postnatal incidence of CHD was 1.9%.
- The mean maternal age was 28.3 years, with 21.3% of mothers aged 35 or older.
- Fetal and postnatal CHD diagnoses agreed in 77.6% of cases; 60% of patients underwent surgery, with a neonatal mortality rate of 18.5% (5/27).
Conclusions:
- CHD incidence is 1.9%, with higher prevalence in older mothers and later intrauterine detection.
- Complex heart lesions were predominant, contributing to challenges in achieving favorable neonatal mortality outcomes.
- Improved prenatal detection and management strategies are needed for complex CHD cases.
Objective:
to describe the epidemiological data of the population born with the diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD); to compare diagnoses made using fetal echocardiography with the findings from postnatal echocardiography or anatomopathological examination of the heart; and to evaluate mortality among newborns that underwent surgical treatment.
Methods:
this was a cohort study with information gathered from the medical records of the pregnant women and their newborns diagnosed with CHD during the fetal or postnatal periods, between January 2008 and December 2012. Means, standard deviations and maximum and minimum values were calculated for the quantitative variables. Relative and absolute values were calculated for the qualitative variables. The heart malformations were categorized in four groups: complex lesions, significant lesions, minor lesions and others.
Results:
we detected postnatal incidence of CHD of 1.9% at our service. The mean maternal age was 28.3 years and 10 (21.3%) of the pregnant women were ≥ 35 years old. The mean gestational age at the time of performing the fetal echocardiogram was 27.8 weeks. Mean gestational age at delivery was 38 weeks, and the mean weight of the newborns was 2,644.5 grams. Regarding the diagnosis of CHD, there were: 23 complex lesions (39%); 15 significant lesions (26%); 10 minor lesions (17%); 4 other lesions (7%) and 6 normal anatomies (10%). The diagnosis of CHD made on the fetus and postnatally coincided in 77.6% of the cases. A total of 27 patients (60%) underwent surgery, and the outcome was neonatal death in five cases.
Conclusion:
we detected postnatal incidence of CHD of 1.9%, and it was more common among older pregnant women and with late detection in the intrauterine period. Complex heart diseases predominated, thus making it difficult to have a good result regarding neonatal mortality rates.
